Burning Rome
by SublimelyRidiculous
Summary: Micheal and Selene are on the run with Death Dealers and Lycans alike both snapping at their heals. One Dealer in particular, will cause more trouble than imagined possible as she discovers the truth. PreEvolution. Please R&R.
1. Fanning the Flame

Marie limped along the grime coated sewers of downtown Budapest, her breath coming in gasps and shudders and the gash in her leg still burning like fire had erupted into her thigh. Everything was wrong. Viktor dead, both Kraven and Selene betrayed them, and the coven was now in complete disarray.

Exhausted, she pushed herself to keep going. Never give up, never give in. Those words kept ringing in her mind as Marie gingerly placed one foot in front of the other. She had to get back to Ordhoghaz, and tell them of everything that had happened here; the massacre, the slayings of Victor and Lucien- and of course- the hybrid.

After what felt like hours Marie found the sickly glow of a streetlight through an open manhole in the ceiling. She fumbled for her whip at her side and swung at the top bar of the ladder which had been broken in half. Try one, no success; her second try had also wielded the same results. On her third attempt she desperately flung the whip up then heard the clang of metal on metal. Success! She quickly hoisted herself up and took a moment to gather her nerves and her whip, then went in search of a car.

To her satisfaction, there was something parked only a block away. As much as she hated the idea of stealing somebody's car there was only an hour until sunrise and she needed to get home. So without hesitation she shuffled over and threw her closed fist through the window and unlocked the door. Moments later both the car and its hijacker were off to Ordhoghaz.


	2. Rome is Burning

Hi. This is my second installment for my Burning Rome series. I don't know what you all thought of the first one or if you even read it, because nobody reviewed. I really do appreciate feedback, but I'm not going to beg you to read and review these things.

I do intend to keep writing even without reviews so either way you're going to keep hearing from me. Thanks for reading.

SublimelyRidiculous

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**_Rome is Burning..._**

**Selene had never felt more alive than the moment she had put an end to Viktor's life; and his control over her. Nothing mattered then, not his lies, not his war, and not his coven. Nothing.**

**Only when she looked into Michael's eyes did it hit her. _Everything _would change. She was no longer a Death Dealer, but a traitor. Not only had she slain an elder, she mixed the species while deliberately defying orders. **

**Where were they going to go? How long could they possibly run?**

"**Come on Michael" she whispered, "let's go." Selene pushed past the hybrid and further into the catacombs of the Underworld.**

**

* * *

**

**Abomination. Is that what he was? A creature of both worlds but welcomed by neither race?**

**All this had rushed through Michael's head as he followed the raven- haired vampire, Selene, through the dank, wet passages of the Budapest sewers. Nothing made any sense anymore. **

**As they continued walking Michael had begun to feel increasingly ill. Whether it was the change, or just shock he couldn't tell. **

**In the past three days he had experienced changes that would make him leave everything behind. His friends, his family, his life, and his humanity. All of them slipping through his fingers like sand, and there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as he fell deeper into an unfamiliar darkness.**

**

* * *

**

**Selene continued to push deeper and deeper into the sewers. Turning this way then that, not really sure where she was going. All she could do was continue walking and hope to find a way out before sunrise and before she encountered any trouble.**

**On occasion she would glance back at Michael who hadn't said anything. She wasn't sure what motivated this action. A feeling perhaps? Did she feel responsible for him? Or was it concern? She didn't know, after spending the last 100 years of her life ignoring her feelings, she knew nothing about them. Whenever she felt something, she would stuff it away and ignore it… waiting for it to fade.**

**Ten minutes had passed while walking until they had found a way out. A small, metal door. Scarred by rust from exposure to the constant moisture of the underground tunnels. Backing up a foot or so she prepared to kick the door down; and about to do so when interrupted by Michael.**

"**Here, let me get it," he offered. Selene paused, giving him the cold glare she had always wore but letting him continue anyways. The hybrid moved in front of her clumsily, still not used to his new body. Bringing his fist back he slammed it into the door, knocking down with a deafening crash.**

**Without a word, Selene moved past him once more and was pleasantly surprised at finding that the door had somehow lead to the surface. She wasn't sure how, there weren't any inclines while they were plodding their way through the sewers. But she most certainly wasn't going to complain.**

**A van, most likely for maintenance was parked on the curb. Another stroke of luck. Walking briskly over to the van, Selene wasted no time breaking in the window and hotwiring it. Whilst she was doing that Michael climbed into the seat next to her and waited patiently. **

**A moment passed until Selene had succeeded in starting the van. "Where are we going?" questioned Michael. Se**

**Selene didn't answer.**

**And so they pulled out of the spot began to flee from the city. Knowing Rome had just begun to burn.**


	3. Carrying the Torch

**_Burning Rome_** , Ch III

Before you read, this chapter spends time in Ordhoghaz before going to Michael and Selene. Also, sorry for the long time on update and the sloppiness of this chapter's unedited cut. This one has been fixed and is now easier to read.

Peace out,

Sublimely Ridiculous.

* * *

**_Carrying the Torch_**

Marie awoke to a face hovering over hers. "Damn it Will" she mumbled, pushing the green eyed, red haired face away. Grinning, the young man thirty years her elder stepped back from the small medical bed. Marie looked from him to her leg, and then the floodgates of her memory opened.

She stumbled into the house to find complete chaos, maids were running back in forth and others were fretting at as to how Marcus was to be awakened. According to William she was only noticed (or paid any attention to) when she crumpled onto the floor due to what he guessed to be blood loss.

Tired and overwhelmed, Marie buried her head in her hands in to think.

Will broke the awkward silence with "You're lucky you know." Marie cracked her fingers open to stare at him in what he could imagine as a look of utter disbelief. "She should have killed you, and all you got away with is a cut…" Marie now shifted uncomfortably on the mattress. "Just imagine, all she had to do was sick that _dog_ on you and you would have been finished", Will's voice rose steadily, "Why didn't you think to get reinforcements? _Did_ you even think? You just had to go off all alone. Your short sightedness quite possibly costed us her capture and almost your life. You need to think these things through."

Marie removed her head from her hands and slowly rose to put her weight onto one foot. "Really, Will." She hissed, while holding steady against railing of the infirmary's bed. "What reinforcements could I have called? They had their own agenda! Every single one of them, off in a different direction, forgetting why we even came there! Even with help the result would've been the same. She's at least a hundred years older than me and anyone else who would have tagged along." Will moved his gaze over the wall. "Selene is too powerful." She sighed and plopped herself back onto the bed. "And besides, she was turned by Viktor. You know strength is often transferred in the turning process."

Will finally looked back at Marie with the same thoughtful expression he always wore. "Amelia was no weakling Marie, you are blessed to of had her as a sire. Many would kill to have half of your ability."

"I know," Marie hissed venomously, "but I never wanted it."

* * *

Gears creaked and turned slowly as the ancient coffin with it's even older occupant lifted from the floor. It crept up inch by inch. Emerging feet first it continued coming up at this sloth-like pace. Next the legs appeared, then the waist, after that the torso, the shoulders, and finally the head.

The machinery stopped with a clank when the entire coffin was visible. Cobwebs and all. Only silence was heard until…_ Thud Thud Thud._ The occupant began to stir. The noise was faint at first, until it escalated to an ear pounding _bang_.

Moments later the lid came flying off of its hinges and across the tomb. All was still until a blue hand grasped the edge and pulled up the long anticipated Marcus.

Unaware of his new physique, he lazily stretched and climbed out of his resting place for the last 200 years. He shook out his arms and legs, feeling more alive than he ever had. Everything seemed well until he took a deep breath; Lycan permeated throughout the entire room.

He reacted immediately with a hiss and a snarl. His eyes darted back in forth until he spotted the intruder dead on the floor; bleeding into where his tomb was until just recently located. '_What?'_ He mused contemptuously. '_The blood of this filthy urchin is what awakened me and not that of my own kinsman?'_ Glancing into the reflective surface of the one way mirror he was horrified by what he saw.

* * *

"Michael… **_Michael_**," Selene prodded to awaken her passenger in the parking lot of Suites de Paradis. They had been driving for hours and had begun to now trek through Slovakia. Seeing as sunrise was not far off, Selene had decided to stop for her own sake and perhaps Michael's as well.

She prodded him in the side with her finger causing him only to stir and roll over in his seat. Impatient, Selene simply picked himout of the car and slung him over her shoulder. "Hey," Michael yelped, "put me down! Couldn't you have just woken me like a civilized human- being?" Despite his protests Selene just marched on to the hotel.

"What you fail to realize Michael is that I am _not_ a human being, I _have _tried to wake you, and you didn't even so as much a bat an eyelash." She plopped him down onto his feet like a mother would her child, "I've already checked us in and there is a small gift shop down the left hall from the lobby where you should be able to buy some new clothing. Here's some money, and a room key. The room number is 213 on the second floor…" she shoved several hundred euros and plastic key card into Michael's hand then turned to walk into the hotel but paused and added a bit more softly than before, "… and please try to be in before dawn." With that said the vampiress went in to prepare to the next night's trip.

Left alone for a while Michael bought himself some grey sweat pants and a black t-shirt in the gift shop, with plenty of money and time to spare. He wandered through the halls of the hotel until he found the snack machine on the other side of the lobby. Famished, he eagerly shoved money in and bought six packages of snack crackers. Three for him, three for Selene. All went well and until the unthinkable happened… a jam had caused his delectable, mouthwatering, peanut butter snack crackers to snag by the hook and dangle just centimeters from the edge. "Damn it!" he cursed the machine and his luck to several different hells before coming to a solution. Looking around to be sure no one was looking Michael used his new found strength to tip the machine and set his crackers free. Clearly satisfied with himself, he smiled and grabbed his food before trotting back to the room. "_I suppose being immortal can't be all bad._" He thought optimistically while munching away at his prize.

Michael joined Selene only to find her asleep in the bed. Not wanting to wake her he simply put her share of four cracker packets (he decided she should get more than three) onto the nightstand next to her side of the bed and climbed into his. Now, with nothing to occupy him or his mind Michael began to worry.

What would become of him? He didn't know anything about his new body. Not how it worked, what he needed to eat, what benefited him, and most importantly, what endangered him. How long could they avoid death at the hands of vampires or lycans? Where would they go?

Quietly, Selene sighed next to him and rolled over to face him in her sleep. It was then Michael decided that everything would be fine.

….. Later around 2 o' clock in the afternoon Selene woke to find the crackers on her nightstand and almost smiled.


	4. Kindling for the Fire

**_Burning Rome_**, Ch. IV

I know I haven't updated for a while but I got grounded from the computer for talking back to my Mom and being a smart ass. Hahahaha. It was worth it though… ;)

Enjoy the chapter and please feel free to leave helpful tips and comments. Thanks. ;)

* * *

_**Kindling for the Fire**_

Horrendous, that would be the best word to describe the scream from the Elder's tombs in Ordhoghaz. Will raced down the hallway, leaving a disgruntled and curious Marie behind to rest in the infirmary. Upon reaching the doors Will immediately unholstered his gun and pointed it at the blue figure in front of him. "Halte," he barked. Will's eyes darted around the room and fell onto the empty coffin. "What have you done with Marcus? Answer me!"

"Put your gun down boy," answered the creature. "It is only I." Marcus returned the steely gaze of the berretta with one of his own.

"Marcus," stammered Will while getting down onto one knee. "My Lord… what has happened to you?"

Several others came into the room, many of them kneeled. "Where is Amelia? Why is it that the blood of this lycan has awakened me!" Marcus paced the room awaiting explanations. After ten seconds the answer came from a young, blonde, maid in the back of the room; Erika.

"A lycan was killed in here earlier by Viktor sir… he must have bled into your tomb." Erika gulped and looked up to meet the eyes of her Elder.

"And Amelia?" continued Marcus.

"She was killed by a pack of lycans while arriving on the train."

Unsatisfied, Marcus sighed. "You said Viktor is awake. Bring him to me."

This time it was Will who stepped forward. "I am afraid that we cannot do this My Lord. For Viktor has been slain by Selene."

"**_WHAT?_"**

* * *

The inactivity was killing her. She wanted to know what was happening and she wanted to know now. Marie pulled the I.V. from her arm and inserted the blood packet into her mouth. Selene was only getting further away and so were her answers.

Will arrived to see an antsy Marie sitting on her bed checking the gauze around her leg. "It won't heal for about a day at the most," he said. Marie looked up at him a smiled sheepishly. Taking this as permission, Will sat next to her on the bed. "Marcus is awake, he wants to see you when you are able to walk..." Marie was just about to swing her legs over the edge of the bed when Will interrupted with, "…which is not for about another three hours."

"What I am supposed to do until then," huffed Marie. "Will, two Elders are dead. One of them was my sire. I'm not going to sit here while the people responsible continue to run." She sighed in anger and despair as she plopped her back against the bed. Unsure of how to comfort her Will patted her on the arm and got up to check other patients from the night's raid.

After a half hour of counting ceiling tiles and twiddling her thumbs Marie crawled out of bed. She limped as she walked out of the infirmary and into the library. If Selene had found anything it would be here.

Searching every row of bookcases she found an old book opened to a page with Lucian on it. The skin next to it was missing… she knew Lucian was alive, she found his body after he was shot. Marie spent an hour aimlessly rummaging through the books searching for reasons why. Why did Selene cut Viktor down, and who was the cause of Amelia's death.

It was only after an hour that Marie had decided that what she was looking for would not be found in the library. She had to find Selene.

* * *

The shower brought Selene to her senses as the hot water poured over her body and into the drain. She followed the same routine she would have normally followed at Ordhoghaz; shower, dress, check weapons. The normalcy of it all kept her from thinking too much.

Even with routine her thoughts drifted back to Ordhoghaz. The last centuries of her life had been spent there and very few things changed for until she met Michael. It seemed to her that the events of the past few days were to make up for the lack of meaningful occurrences of the last hundred or so years.

The clicking of the guns woke Michael from slumber. He tiredly wiped the sleep out of his eyes and pulled the covers off. "Good morning," he yawned to Selene while stepping out of bed and stretching. He stood watching her for a moment, lost in her thoughts, before he went to take a shower himself.

Selene checked her guns three more times until putting them away and retrieving a pack of blood from the small cooler she had unpacked earlier and biting into it. She let the cool, coppery liquid slide down her throat before seeing Michael come out of the bathroom and handing the pack to him. "Here," she said giving him the pack "if you're ever going to make it past your first week with me you'll need more than crackers."

Michael accepted it with a dumfounded look. "This is…"

Selene sighed. "Yes Michael, it's blood." She watched him turn the pack over in his hands before giving him a frustrated sigh and stepping up to look him in the eye. " Please drink this, I know it's hard abandon your humanity but you'll be better off if you just do it."

Reluctantly, Michael raised the pack to his mouth and sipped and the crimson liquid inside. He nearly gagged as two urges tugged at his subconscious; the need to drink more, and the want to put the pack down and starve. He quickly finished and tore the empty pack from his mouth with a grim satisfaction before throwing the pack away and helping Selene stow things for their departure.

They worked quietly together for ten minutes before gathering their things and going down to check out and getting into the car. Michael shoved everything into the back seat while Selene climbed into the driver seat and waited for him. "Well are you ready?" asked Selene as he climbed into the passenger side and buckled his seat belt. She then ignited the engine and sped out of the parking lot and back onto the open road.

Michael simply looked back. "Ready for what?"


	5. It's Catching

_I know that I'm a horrible person for not updating the story for eons but writer's block has been a bitch and I've had rough couple of months. Including almost getting kicked out. I already have the next chapter typed up but I need to revise so it'll only be a day or two tops._

_See you then,_

_SublimelyRidiculous_

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Driving anywhere was always boring for Michael, one hour, half an hour, it didn't matter. He hated just sitting and idly watching the scenery passing by; Selene wasn't making things any better either. Her only topics of conversation at the moment were where they were going and how they were going to get there. The more he thought about it, the less he understood the attraction. She wasn't at all talkative, friendly, or nurturing… she was, however, reserved, hot headed, and foreboding.

"Selene," he asked quietly, "do you think we could talk?" The look he received from her was Kodak moment material. Confusion muddled with minor annoyance; he shrugged it off and continued anyway, "I just think that we should get to know each other since we'll be well, umm, together for a while." Dear god he felt like an idiot. Why didn't he just out and say, "Hey babe, come here often?", or instead, "What's a nice girl like you doing in a place like this?" but he restrained himself.

Selene's features flicked from annoyance to quiet amusement. She didn't answer for a few moments as though weighing her options carefully. Sure, she didn't appreciate advances from any man, but she couldn't help but feel for poor Michael squirming in his seat. "Well, what is there to know? I grew up when people still believed in goblins, I lived to see the plague, watched both World Wars, and now we're here. After all, my family is long dead and it's not like you'll be meeting them anytime within the near future," she stated with a finality that meant this conversation was over way before it had ever started.

Michael sighed and sank into his chair in defeat. Maybe he could sleep to pass the time? He silently reached back behind the seat and reclined before rolling onto his side. His eyelids grew heavier and heavier; his fatigue was so great that he didn't even notice a wolf howl at the full moon.

* * *

"Marie, what _are_ you going," seethed Will in frustration. Marcus was waiting and she seemed to have no intention of going to see him.

"I'm leaving to find Selene, William," she stated, "and nothing you can say or do is going to stop me." Will couldn't stand the fact that he was being blown off while Marie continued to bustle about her chambers and pack her things.

"God damn it! Don't you realize that you are keeping an _elder_ waiting?"

"Yep," she chirped in a matter-of-factly tone. "And I don't care. He didn't even know I existed until you just had to fill him in." She said this last bit while hoping into the air to land on her suitcase so she could close it's over flowing lid. She had always been taught to be prepared.

Will gritted his teeth, "Why can't you see him before going? I don't think he would stop you from trying to find her."

"Because I don't want any of his stupid rules or ideas getting in the way of what I think needs to be done."

"Well, if you're going then I'm going," he shouted.

"Fine."

"Fine."

So only an hour later a black jeep pulled out of the mansion and onto the international highways. Hopefully, thought Marie, she would find them in Paris and they would be in one piece.

* * *

Lycans crowded on the hilltop as the vague silhouette of a car winded on it's way on the road below them. Words were not spoken, yet everyone knew their orders. Apprehend the Death Dealer and force the hybrid to surrender.

A slightly larger lycan grunted to it's clan mates. And so, the battle would begin.

* * *

_Does my evil know no bounds? Tune in tomorrow to find out._


	6. Where There's Smoke

_As promised here's the next chapter of Burning Rome. I would like to thank Londonvixen for reminding me of Kraven's existance. Anyway, this chapter will help put more things into motion and I'll be revising and editing my first and second chapters because I'm ashamed to call them my own. I'll also update by next week, so thanks for reading and please feel free to review._

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The windshield shattered as the car violently collided with a lycan, causing a rather vile slew of curse words to fly from Selene and for Michael to jump out of his slumber. "What the hell was that!" he exclaimed while clutching the sides of his seat.

As though on cue, another lycan perched itself on the roof of the car then proceeded to try and rip through the metal while others ran along side the vehicle. Selene slammed on the brakes to send the dog-beast flying forward as well as cause the others to run past. She almost half smiled as she shifted into reverse and backed over a straggler who had tripped and fallen over himself. This is definitely what she lived for.

"Michael, take this," she handed him her gun before continuing, "I really hope you have enough sense to use it because we'll be up to our necks in lycans at this rate." More lycans had begun to charge down the road in front of them at an alarming and ever increasing pace, dismissing any and all hopes Selene had harbored of killing them and continuing onward to Russia, then China; she u-turned away from the furry killers and accelerated. Part of her wished that they would simply fade away in her rearview mirror, but she knew they would keep coming until she either lost them or killed them.

Michael clenched the gun in a death grip; he'd never shot anyone before. "Should I shoot them?" he asked. Selene shot him a disbelieving look from the corner of her eye that said everything without a word being spoken… fire away. Hesitantly, he stuck his arm and head out the window and took careful aim. His first shot missed horribly but the second hit one of the assailant's in the thighs, which sent him rolling to the ground. He fired off several more rounds without such success. "Selene, I don't think I can take them all out!"

She furrowed her brow in response before answering, "Fine, switch me seats so I can shoot and you can drive." The change was sloppy and rushed, but occurred without incident. By now one lycan had powered its way to the driver's side window and grinned wolfishly at Michael. Michael punched through the glass and into the beast's jaw.

With him at the wheel and Selene firing shots into the ever-thinning crowd of attackers, soon they found themselves once again facing the open, empty side roads of Eastern Europe. "So," queried Michael, "where to?"

Selene was quiet- she honestly didn't know where to go. Going further east was obviously now out of the question; heading west now seemed to be the only logical course of action in her mind. They needed a big city, one where they could easily blend into the crowd. That's when she decided. "Paris."

* * *

Kraven was lost. Kraven was really lost. His car that he had taken from the manor had broken down of the side of the road and he was reduced to waving down help; which he had every intention of killing of feeding from after he was finished with them. He had almost lost all hope when he saw a black jeep pull over. "Oh thank god you pulled over my car broke… down," he stuttered and paused when he saw Marie get out of the car. In fact, a little piece of his already undead soul had revived then died at that moment. He quickly regained his composure as he worked up a plan to deceive her into sparing him.

"Kraven," she spat as she strode quickly toward him with her hand on her gun holster. She had considered just killing him with one of those drive-by shootings she had heard so much about on the human news (Author's Note: In Cincinnati anyways...), but instead decided to make his pain more personal; and so far this was _much_ more satisfying. "You fucking traitor, I'm going to rip you to shreds."

"Wait, wait, wait!" pleaded Kraven. "I'm sure that you're angry with me but at least listen." Marie stopped in her place only five feet away but drew her gun and kept it pointed at Kraven's head. "I think that I could be of some assistance to y-"

"Like you were to Lucien?!" Marie cut him off. "You should've thought about your life before you betrayed us."

"I know where you'll find Selene!"

At this Marie lowered her gun but kept her guard up while waving for Will to come. When Will made it to her side she then motioned for Kraven to continue.

"Knowing Selene she'll eventually head to a major city like Paris or London. She may even go to the United States, but not before hitting one of those two cities."

Will raised an eyebrow at Kraven's bold assumption. "What makes you so sure she'll be there?"

"She has connections in both places from when she was stationed in various manors of the coven's before coming to Budapest."

Marie smiled evilly before stepping forward and delivering a swift kick to Kraven's groin then pulling him back up by the collar. "It looks like we have a tour guide," she snickered as she and Will dragged him back into the jeep and tranquilized him with sedatives from a medical kit.

It was few days later when Kraven awoke to find himself in a cramped, although very luxurious closet in a hotel of Paris, France.


End file.
